Sintering plant



A. F. PLOCK.

SINTERING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED APn.27, 1915.

1 ,330,090. Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET WITNESSES I INVENTOR A. F. PLOCK.

SINTERING PLANT.

APPHCATION FILED APR. 21. 19I5.

1,330,090. Patented Feb. 10,1920.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2- FIG. 2

wl s s INVENTOR A. F. PLOCK.

SINTERING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21. ISIS.

1,330,090. Patented Feb. 10,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG. 4

WITNESSES v INVENTOR A. F. PLOCK.

SINTERING PLANT,

APPLICATION FILED APR.27. 1915.

Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

FIG. 10

FIG. 9

INVENTOR ENE-@555 P I I IHH HH I UHHH EFF? ' WITNESSES stirrer) sratrns Parana OFFICE.

ALBERT F. PLOGK, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

STNTERING PLANT:

T o aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. PLooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, h ve invented a new and useful Sintering Plant, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus used in.

sintering finely divided materials and more particularly relates to apparatus for use in sintering finely divided iron bearing materials such as blast furnace flue dust.

One object of my invention is to provide sintering apparatus having novel means whereby the sintering cars are handled or v manipulated in the sintering operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide sintering apparatus having sintering cars oi novel construction whereby warping of the cars is prevented and loss of heat by radiation is avoided and overcome, the life of the cars is greatly lengthened, and the cost of upkeep is materially lessened.

Another object of my invention is to'proto construct sintering plants as made here to'fo're. p

Still further objects of my invention will be disclosed hereinafter, and specifically pointed out'in the claim. r

Referring now to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is a plan showing sintering apparatus constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is sectional side elevation or the sintering plant shown inFig. 1. I V Fig. 3 is anend elevation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. i; is a sectional plan taken on theirregular line IV-IV of 5. showing the feeding mechanism by which the: finely divided flue dust or other materials are de livered from the-sintering cars. V

Fig.- 5 is a sectional side elevation of the feeding mechanism shown in Fig. 4,;and on a smaller scale in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 6- is a sectional levation showing a detail in the construction of the tilting track Specification of Letters Patent.

at one end of the building 2 the distributing hoppers into Patented Feb. 10, 1920.

Application filed April 27', 1915. serial No. 24,213.-

rails of the'hoist vforming part of my improved sintering apparatus.-

Fig. 7 is a similar sectional elevation showing the construction of the guide for the tilting track rails.

Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation shoW-' ing the construction of the tilting track rails on the hoist at the discharge end of the sintering track. r r

Fig. 9 is a plan showing the construction of sintering cars madein accordance with my invention and forming part of my improved sintering apparatus. v

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional side elevation showing the construction of the sintering car of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a sectional end elevation of the sintering car shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and on a smaller scale in Figs. 1, 2 and In the accompanying drawings the numeral 2 designatesthe building in which the sintering operations are effected, and located are storage bins 3 for materials to be sintered. At the other end of the building 2 is a rotary car dumping mechanism a by which the sintering cars are inverted to discharge sintered inals therefrom. into cars 6 positioned on I "k 6 located beneath the car dumping mechanism.

Extending lengthwise within the building 2 from one end to the other thereof 1s an elevated sintering track 7 and beneath the track 7 is an inclined return track 8 on which the empty sinterlng cars are delivered from the cardumping' end to the opposite Yend of the building A hoist 9 comprising aplatform 10 hav-' ing track rails 11 and a fluid pressure cylinder .1 having a plunger 13, isemployed to connect the discharge end of the return tract: 8 with the 01;: receiving end of the sinteringtrack 7 the platform 10 being mounted on the upper end of the vertically moving plunger 13. Vertical guides 14c, i i, are pifc-vided for the platform of the hoist 9., and abuinper 15 affords means for"stop inn; the cars in hoisting position upon the 13 connected at itsupper end to the platform.

bolts 18 to the platform 10, (as is best shown in Fig. 6) and guides 19 on the platform having lugs 20, 20, (see Fig. 7 form a seat for the flange of the track rails 17 which permits of a-liinited vertical movement of the tilting rails 17, 17.

The free ends of the rails 17, 17, project outwardly so as JO engage with the bracket 21 on the beam 22 extending between the colu1nnsg23, (as is shown in Fig. 8), and

as the platform of the hoist 16 reaches itslowermost position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the IlllS 17 are tilted and a car 5 supported thereon is caused to run by gravity to therails of the return track 8.- The rails of the return track 8 are inclined downwardly toward the discharge end there- -of. I The sintering cars when transferred thereto from the hoist, 16 will continue to move thereon by gravity until upon the rails 11, 11, on the platform 10 of' the hoist 9, in position to be lifted and again transferred from the hoist 9 to the sintering track 7.

The return track 8 is, carried upon beams 22 which extend between columns or supports 23, 23, and the sintering track 7 is carried on beams 24 framed to the ends of the floor beams 25 which are supported on columns 23 and 23. V Suspended within the building 2 near one end thereof is a double hopper having coinpartments 28 and 29 with the discharge out lets 30 and 31 thereof above and closely ad- ]acent to the tops of the smtermg cars 5 which pass thereunder on the track 7 when being filled with the flue dust or other mafterials to be sintered.

The compartments 28 and 29 have a rotary feed regulating mechanism 111 the lower end thereofby which the quantity of material and the speed at which the material is fed into the successive sintering cars are regulated and controlled. This mechanism as shown consists in the sliding gates 32 and 33, forregulating the quantity, and rotating shafts 34 and 35, each shaft having a series of radial arms 36 thereon which turn within the openings at the lower end of the compartm cuts to regulate the speed at whlch the materials are discharged into the cars 5 as wheels 37 and 38 are connected by. sprocket chains 39 and 40 to sprocket wheels 41 and shown) 7 won the pug mill 45havingsli'ding gates or 42 on the jack shaft 43 Tliis'jack shaft is positivelyrotated in any desired manner, preferably through the sprocket wheel 43 by means of an electric driving motor (not I On the platform 44 above the bins 28,29, 1' is a moistening pug mill 45, and at one side of the pug mill platform 44 is an elevator 46 having a discharge spout 47 arranged to deliver the finely divided sintering materials to th elevated platform 44, or whennecessary or desirable, into the pug mill 45. In v such case discharge outlets will be provided shutters to close the outlets, to discharge ma terials from this pug mill directly into the hopper 28, or hopper 29. v The lower end of the elevator 46 has a boot into which materials from the mixingp'ug mill 48 are discharged, and these materials are received and delivered into-the pug mill 48 by an endless beltconveyer 49 which is located below and at one side ofthe storage. in 3. Y 7 The storage bin 3 has bottom discharge. outlets 51, 52,53, which arearranged to de-V liver-materials upon the endless, belt conveyers 54-of which there is one beneath each of these outlets of the bin 3, and these endless belticonveyers 54 discharge materials de- 9 posited thereon upon the conveyer 49which mg mechanism on the lower track 6.

The dumpingimechanism, which may be of anydesired known type, as shown is formed of two annular tracks orrings-58, 58, mounted 011 supporting rollers so as to turn, and having arope 59 connecting one of these rings-with a drum (Won the shaft 61 which is mounted in bearings 62, 63, at one side of the car dumping mechanism. The shaft 61 is connected by reducing gears 64, 65, with a driving pulley 66 which in turnis connected 7 by an endless belt; (not shown) with a jack shaft or other prime mover. V

Beneath the sintering track formed by-thc I V rails 3, 3, is .a windbox 68having a throat 69 on its upper side, which is provided with a slot or opening 7 0 in the upper end thereof. Connected to one side of the windbox are two branch fines or oiftakes 71, 71, which lead to the flue 72 extending into the inlet on the rotary fan .7 3.- The discharge outlet of'the fan 73 is connectedby'a flue 74 to thestack I 75, which is located adjacent to the fan on the outside of the buildingQ. Adriving motor 7 1 directlyconnected to th shaft 7?? eitthe fan 73'1'30' actuate dream Whenthe' sintering plant is-in. oper on;

Cleaning] d'o'ors' 7 7 are rovided' on the WindboXJ 6,8 for removing t 'e finely divided material. carried thereinto from the sinter ing carsv 5' by the products of combustion passing through the windbox from, the sintering cars to the stack75. Positioned withinthe building above the sinterin track is the ignition furnace 78 by whic li7 the materialsin the successivecars 5 are ignited and'the combustion of the materials in the cars is started. I f

The ignition f'urnace 78 is bottomless and comprises side and end walls and a roof or t lined with refractory material. The sinte-ring cars 5 form the bottom of the ignition furnace as they successively pass beneath the furnace on the track 7 1n the materials thereini The series of sintering cars 5' (the cone struction of which isshjown indetail in Figsj 9, 10 and 11,) are arranged to'travel' from one end "to the other of the sintering track Z and to be positioned on thelhoistsfiand',16:while being transferred from the sintering track 7 to, the return track 8, and" from'the track 8 to the sintering track 7. Eachfsintering car is separated by perforatedgrate bars'into an upper compartment for materials being sintered', and a lower compartment or windbox 79. The win'dbox 79 lia-sa' slot 80 in thebQttom thereof which extends lengthwise parallel with the lengtho'f'the car.

Elangedwearing plates 81 aresecured on the lower or outer surface or the bottom plate offjth cars 5, and these wearing plates have slots or opening'sSQ therein registering with the slot or series of slots in thew'ear plate on the upper end of the throat 69 of the windbox 68" beneath the sintering track 7. Supports. 83 are'provided at an' intermediate point in the height. of the cars 5' on the sides and ends thereof to securelin' position within the cars the removable perforated or slotted grate bars 84 forming the supportgwithinthe cars for the materials, being si'ntered':

The slotted grate bars 84 are made in sections and extend" lengthwise across the-width of the furnace, one end of these bars being interlocked with the bridge or grate bar support 85 whlch extends lengthwise within the windbox of the car at theniiddle' of its width,

and the other end of the grate bars 84. being detachably fastened in place to prevent displacement of the grate bars'rwhen the cars are; inverted in dumping sinter'ed material therefrom.

Each of the cars 5 provided: on its interior with a removable'metalili'ningfor'the sideandj end walls thereof, this lining being formed in sections and eomprisingcastmetal plates 86' having ribs 8? on one side thereof igniting which hold the plates at a distance apart fromthe sides and ends ofthe car. Preferably the space 88 between the lining plates The lining plates 86 have countersunkholes therein in which the countersunl'r heads of the bolts 89' areseeured in fastening the lining plates 86 inposition, The bolts 89 as shown have slots in their outer ends in which a key 91 is inserted to provide for the quick 7 detachment of the bolts in removing andireplacing the lining plates. Ordinary screwthre-aded bolts and nuts may be substituted for theslotted bolts and keys, when desired, to fasten the-lining plates 86 in place.

The axles or stub shafts 92 for the cars 5 are fastened to the sides and bottom of the carsas shown, and the four wheels 93; are secured to the stub shafts in the usual known manner.v When the cars 5 are traveling on v the sintering track 7 the wearing plate 81.

on the bottom of the cars ei'xgagos with the slotted'wearing plate 94' on the upper end of the throat 69 of the windbox 68' so as to pre vent ingress of air to the windbox 68.

The'oieration of my improved s-interin'g plantwi l'now be described:

Flue dust sint-ered with my improved apparatus usually contains so much carbon that the intense heat of the sinteringoperation,

causes the sintered' materials to adhere to a considerableextent to the bottom plates or grate bars of the smte-ring cars. Toover-- come this tendency, finely divided iron oreor'ot-h'er material which contains little or no carbon is spread in a layer of' ab out one inch in thickness on the grate bars 84: before the flue dust, mill scale, or other mixture of iron bearing and carbonaceous materials is put into the cars. The oreis put intothe compartment 29 of the hopper, and the fine dust, mill scale, or mixture of iron OXlCl containin'g carbon, is placed in the second compartment 28.

Part ofthe compartments of the storage bin 3l1aving been filled with flue dust, mill scale, or a mixture of such materials, and one of these compartments with finely divided .ore orother iron bearing material containing less carbon than is contained in the flue dust, the conveyors l9 and 54 are started so as to deliver the desired material to the dry pug mill d8. The materials entering this pug mill are discharged into the boot of the elevator 46' and are carried upwardly thereby, being discharged upon the elevated platform 44.

vlVlaterials intendedto be dry are then transferred into the hopper 28 or 29, depending upon itscomposition. When to be moistened, as is usually-the c'ase, water 7 supplied to the pug mill while the materials are shoveled or otherwise delivered thereinto, and after being mixed and moistened such materials are discharged therefrom into the hopper 28 or 29, as has been'described. V

A suflicient number of ears to fill the elevated sintering track 7 is then positioned thereon, and acar 5' also is placed on the platform 10 of the hoist 9.x The sintering cars, as they pass beneath the discharge outlet on the suspended hopper 29 receive a "small'quantity of iron ore or similar nonl carbonaceous material, or of a mixture of materials having a small percentage ofcarbonac eous material, which is spread in a layer of about one inch in thickness on the bottom'of each car as it passes'beneath the discharge opening 31 of the hopper 29.

The paddles or arms 36 on the constantly rotating shaft 35 of the hopper 29 are driven at a speed which will regulate the flow of material from the hopper 29 so as to deliver.

a layer of the requisite thickness in the bottom of the cars.

As the car passes beneath the dis'char e opening 30in the hopper 28 it receives t e.

flue dust or other mixture of iron oxid and carbon to be sintered, the feed from the hopper 28 being regulated so as to practically fill the body of the car 5 above the grate bars while the caris being moved from one end -to the other beneath theoutlet 30.

The car 5 is then moved forwardly. (or

from right to left in Fig. 2) and another car is brought into position beneath the outlets of the hoppers 28 and 29, and in passing thereunder'receives first a layer of non-carbonaceous material and then the fluedust, in the same manner as has been described. When a third car 5 is passed beneath the hoppers 28, 29, the first filled car will become positioned underneath the sintering furnace, 78 in which the material to be sintered is ignited and its combustion started.

In igniting the material in the first filled car, the-fan 73 driven by the motor 76 is started so as to exhaust the air or other gases from the windbox 68 beneath the sintering track 7 and draw out the air throngI the fines 71, 72, finally discharging the wit drawn products of combustion into the permost' surface of the material therein is thorou hly i nited. The fan 73 connected throug the ues 71 and '72 with the Windbox 68 beneath the sintering track draws the products of combustion downwardly through the body of material within thec'ars 5 and discharges the withdrawn productsof V combustion into the stack 75 When clear of the ignition furnace 78 the cars 5 are still connected by the slots or openings 80 in the bottom thereof With the registering slot in the throat 69 on top of; the windbox 68 so that the downdraft continues and the sintering operation'is promoted from' the. top toward the bottom of the materialsin the cars; r

The layer of iron ore, or,of iron bearingj material havin a considerably smallerrpercentage of car onaceous material,:will not be sintered as readily as the fiue dust which contains'more carbon, a'ndi i'n this way the sintering operation is completed while the.

sintered material is not burned or sintered to the grate bars 84 supporting the sintered material within the cars. Y

The plate lining 86 on the sidesandends of the cars being out of contact with the car and having a refractory material in the space between the lining plates and car, the

of the car also is prevented, while radiation of heatthrough the side and end walls of the cars 'is overcome.

Other. cars are then successively passed intense heat of the body of sintered material I is not transmitted'tofthe sides of the car, and sticking of the sintered material to the sides beneath the hoppers 28 and 29 and beneath the sintering furnace 78 until the track is entirelyfilled with cars. In the plantshown, six;ofthe cars 5 are maintained on the sintering track 7, and one or more additional cars will be located, on

the hoists,9 and 1.6 and on the'lower inclined return track 8 connecting the hoists beneath thelsintering track.

When a car ispushed or moved from the platform 10 of the hoist 9 to the receiving end of the sintering track 7, a car will be moved from the sintering track to the plat form 10 of the hoist 16. This car will then v be pushed forwardly upon the track rails:

of the car dumping mechanism.

The car dumping mechanism is then actuated so asto invert the car 5 in position thereon, andinthis way discharge the sintered material in the inverted car into the car 6 positionedon the track 6 belowthe car dumping mechanism. The dumping mechanism is then rotated to again. bring the car into upright position, or into position' to be transferred backwardly int position on, the tilting track rails of the platform 10 of the hoist 16. e

The hoist 16 is then lowered to bring the car 5 on its platform into position to be discharged upon the track 8. As the platform 10 approaches the lowered position shown in Fig. 2 the projecting ends of the" track rails 17 pivoted on the platform will engage with platform 10 is in the dotted position shown the ledge or bracket 21 on the columns 23 at the platform 10 of the hoist 9, the cars being brought to a stop on the hoist 9 by striking the bumper 15 provided for that purpose at the lower end of thistrack.

The empty sintering car now on the platform of the hoist 9 is then raised until the at the right in Fig. 2, and this car is then moved from the platform to the sintermg track 7 into position to receive a fresh charge of material vto be sintered from the hoppers 28 and 29.

When a car 5 is moved from beneath the hoppers 28 and 29, another car is moved frombeneath the ignition furnaces 7 8 While the car at the discharge end of the sintering track 7 is moved upon the platform of the hoist 16. Each car, as the sintering operation is completed, is discharged from the sintering track to the track rails of the hoist 16, and such car is. moved upon the dumping mechanism 4. Its contents are then removed by dumping the car, and such car, after being dumped, is replaced on the platform of the hoist 16 and is lowered by this hoist into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, from which position it is discharged by gravity and is caused to travel on the'inclined return track 8 until in posi tion on the platform 10 of the hoist 9.

The above described operations are then repeated intermittently with the successive cars so as to cause a substantially continuous sintering operation.

In continuing the operation of the sintering plant the materials to be sintered are delivered into the compartments of the storage bin 3, and these materials are transferred on the conveyers 54- and 4:9, and elevator 46, to the pug mills, and are delivered into the distributing hoppers 28 and 29. The successive cars are filled, the filled cars are ignited, and the materials therein are sintered and removed from the cars as has been described.

The advantages of my invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The apparatus is simple and compact and requires a minimum floor space. The necessity for using transfer tracks at the ends of the sintering track in positioning the cars is avoided and made unnecessary.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made Without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claim.

In a sintering plant the combination of an elevated sintering track, a series of sintering cars arranged to traverse said track during the sintering operations, means at the ends and beneath said sintering track for transferring said cars from the discharge to the receiving end of the said sintering track, means at the receiving end of the sintering track for filling thecars with sinter- 'ing'materials and means at the delivery end of said sintering track for inverting said cars to remove sintered materialstherefrom preparatory to transferring the empty cars to the receiving end of said sintering track.

In testimony'whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. v

' ALBERT F. PLOGK.

Vitnesses I 'R. D. LITTLE,

WILLIAM B. WHARTON. 

